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CALGARY — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Canada’s vitality business say they’ll await particulars earlier than responding to the newest risk by U.S. President Donald Trump surrounding tariffs.
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Trump says he’ll impose a ten per cent tariff on Canadian oil round mid-February after beforehand promising it could be 25 per cent as a part of a blanket tariff on all Canadian exports that’s set to start Saturday.
Earlier than that, Trump had promised the sweeping tariffs would come on his first day in workplace, Jan. 20. Whereas the White Home stated the 25 per cent tariffs will go into impact on Saturday, particulars concerning Trump’s plan for imposing tariffs on oil stay imprecise.
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“I’m most likely going to scale back the tariff a little bit bit on that,” he stated when requested whether or not the tariffs would apply to Canadian crude oil. “I feel we’re going to deliver it all the way down to 10 per cent on the oil.”
Trump stated there may be nothing Canada can do to keep away from the tariffs. “We’re not on the lookout for a concession. We’ll simply see what occurs,” he stated.
In Alberta, the place nearly all of Canada’s oil and fuel sector resides, political and enterprise leaders kept away from commenting on the president’s newest announcement.
The Alberta premier’s workplace stated Smith “is ready, together with everybody else, to see the main points.”
The Canadian Affiliation of Petroleum Producers and the Explorers and Producers Affiliation of Canada additionally stated they’ll look ahead to specifics earlier than commenting.
Trump has cited an “unprecedented invasion of unlawful fentanyl” throughout the Canadian and Mexican borders, together with commerce deficits with Canada, as his major causes for imposing the tariffs.
Smith has tried to influence Trump to again down on his tariff threats — significantly by pointing to U.S. imports on Canadian oil and fuel, the business on which a lot of Alberta’s funds depends.
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Smith travelled to the president’s residence in Florida previous to his inauguration by an invite from Canadian businessman and tv character Kevin O’Leary.
Smith made headlines when she broke ranks along with her fellow premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who stated Canada needs to be ready to place each retaliatory measure on the desk, together with counter-tariffs on Canada’s vitality exports.
Smith stated earlier this week that she has requested the Canadian authorities appoint a border czar to crack down on Trump’s considerations.
“Is that this prone to finish the specter of tariffs completely? I don’t suppose so,” she stated. “I feel there can be different issues that we might want to work on, and we’ll achieve this.”
She additionally invited a crew of Fox Information reporters to the border in Coutts, Alta., to showcase the province’s efforts on securing the Canada-U.S. border, and has made a number of appearances on Fox Information over the previous month. The community is understood to be one of many president’s favoured information channels to look at.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 31, 2025.
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